Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) device.
Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (LCD) device is one of the most common types of flat panel displays currently in use. The LCD device includes two substrates having formed thereon field-generating electrodes, such as a pixel electrode, a common electrode, and the like, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the two substrates. The LCD device displays an image by applying a voltage to the field-generating electrodes to generate an electric field on the liquid crystal layer, determining a direction in which liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer are aligned by using the electric field, and controlling polarization of incident light.
The LCD devices may be classified into a vertically aligned mode LCD device, which drive liquid crystals by using an electric field formed in a direction perpendicular to the substrates, and an in-plane switching mode LCD device, which drive liquid crystals by using a horizontal electric field formed in a direction parallel to the substrates.
The vertically aligned mode LCD device has superior contrast ratio compared to in-plane switching mode LCD device. In order to ensure a wide viewing angle and to increase an aperture ratio of the vertically aligned mode LCD device, a liquid crystal layer region corresponding to one pixel is divided into a plurality of domains, and liquid crystal molecules having different pretilt angles exist inside of each of the domains.
In recent years, demand for curved display devices has been increasing. During bending processing, the degree of bending of an upper substrate and the degree of bending of a lower substrate differ from each other such that, in one domain of liquid crystal layer region, pretilt angles of liquid crystal molecules in an upper portion of the domain differ from those of liquid crystal molecules in a lower portion of the domain. This misalignment may cause unstable textures and reduction in transmittance.